Love to Hate You: An Enemies-to-Lovers New Adult College Sports Romance

I take a long pull from my beer bottle as a brunette with purple talons runs her hands up and down my chest.  She’s gorgeous and obviously interested, but she’s not doing a damn thing for me.

Nothing stirs south of the border.

I came here with the intention of finding a hookup.  I need to dip my wick and evict Daisy from my head, where she’s renting space, otherwise I’m going to crack.

Know what the real kicker is?

Daisy doesn’t have a flipping clue what she does to me or how I feel about her.  The girl is oblivious, thank fuck. And that’s the way it needs to stay.

I catch Owen’s eye and give him a chin lift in greeting.  “What’s up, man.”

Owen’s a good guy.  If I were sticking around for another season, I’d be worried about him entering the draft.  He’s a difference-maker and a team player.  He’ll be missed.

“Not much.”  He glances around, searching for someone.

The guy might be a brick shithouse, but he gets his fair share of ass.  He has two championships under his belt, and he’ll turn pro at the end of the year.  The pussy turns out for a guy in that position.  Everyone wants a piece of him.  Even if it’s just for the night.

“Have you seen Walker’s little cousin around here?” he asks.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that Daisy isn’t Noah’s younger cousin, but that’s beside the point.

“No.”  Everything in me stills as I bark, “Why?”

“She showed up about an hour ago, and I haven’t seen her since.  I’m trying to do Walker a solid by keeping an eye on her.”  He grimaces.  “You know how protective that guy is when it comes to her.”

Well, fuck me sideways.

I had no idea that Daisy was planning to show up here tonight.  Maybe I should have since it looks like the entire damn university has turned out to help celebrate.  It’s complete mayhem here with all the dancing, drinking, and games which involve the shedding of one’s clothing.  Tonight, all bets are off.

I drag a hand over my face as a girl wearing nothing more than a skimpy bra and thong saunters past with a shot in each hand.

I don’t like the idea of Daisy flying solo.  These parties tend to turn into total shitshows as the night wears on and I’d rather her not get caught up in that.  Especially if Noah isn’t here to crack a few skulls together.  Sure, the guys know not to mess with his cousin, but there’s more than just the team partying here tonight.

I glance around, not recognizing half these people.  It’s the reason I didn’t mention it to her in the first place.  My plan was to find someone to take home and forget all about Daisy Thompson.

Guess that plan has been shot to shit.

Figures.

I glance at the chick wrapped around me like a python.

As much as I want to be into her, I’m not.

Christ, I can’t catch a break where Daisy is concerned.

“Is she here alone?” I ask.

Owen shakes his head.  “Nah.  She showed up with a friend.”  He flashes me a grin.  “A real cutie.”

He must be talking about Olivia.  Those two are usually glued together at the hip.  Thank God for Olivia.  She tends to be the voice of reason while Daisy drags her from one bad idea to the next.  I don’t want to contemplate the trouble Daisy could get into if she had a more likeminded friend.

“I’ll find her,” I say.  “And make sure she’s okay.”

Owen eyes the female clinging to me and scratches his jaw as a smirk settles over his features.  “Nah, I’ll handle the situation.  It’s all good.  You seem to have your hands full.  Enjoy yourself.”  He lifts his chin and flashes another grin.  “You earned it.”

The girl—I can’t remember what the hell her name is—chooses that moment to reach up and whisper in my ear all the inventive ways she can suck a dick.

Any other night, the last one would have caught my interest, but not tonight.  Not with Daisy here, milling around and more than likely getting her ass in trouble.  A hot girl on her own and a bunch of horny drunk dudes looking to celebrate a W are never a good combination.

The more I think about it, the antsier I get to unwrap this chick from around me and find Daisy.  Then I’m going to hustle her out of here even if I have to throw her over my shoulder again to do it.  The memory of what my hand felt like when it connected with her ass spears through me like a lightning bolt.

I’m not going to lie, smacking that firm bottom made me pop some major wood.

Yeah, I need to steer clear of Daisy’s ass from now on.

I glance at the girl molded against me.  “I don’t think it’s going to happen tonight.”

She’s oblivious to the fact that I’ve lost interest.  Even those creative incentives aren’t enough to reel me back in.

She thrusts out her lower lip in a pout and gives me puppy dog eyes, purring in a sexy voice, “Are you sure?  I wanted to help you celebrate tonight.”

“And I appreciate that,” I say with more patience than I currently feel. “But not tonight.  There’s some stuff I need to take care of.”

“Maybe later?”  She twirls a few strands of hair around her finger.  “I can wait around if you want.”

Sheesh.  This girl is relentless.  For all she knows, I’m off to fuck a different chick.  But you know what?  I don’t think she cares.  Just like I racked up a W this afternoon on the field, she’s looking to rack up a W between the sheets.

I shake my head.  “Sorry, not tonight.”

Or any other night.

Honestly, there wasn’t much interest from the get-go when she glommed on to me.  I was looking for someone—anyone—to take my mind off Daisy.

Her face falls at the dismissal.

I jerk my head at the mountain of muscle next to me.  “You know Owen Banks, right?  Number thirty-three?”

The way her eyes light up with interest leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  It shouldn’t surprise me that she was using me the same way I was using her.  And it sure as hell shouldn’t piss me off, either.  When did screwing a random chick at a party or taking them back to my place for a couple of hours of mindless fun stop being enough?  It used to take the edge off.  But that’s no longer the case.

Daisy has burrowed her way into my head, and there doesn’t seem to be a damn thing I can do about it.  The more I try to dislodge her, the more tangled up in her I get.

The female who had been plastered against me gives the defensive lineman a coy look from beneath her lashes along with a little wave.  “Hi, Owen.”  She nips her plump bottom lip and flutters her lashes.  “You were great today.”

I’m tempted to roll my eyes.  He’s doing me a favor by taking this chick off my hands.

Owen grins.  He doesn’t care if she’s feeding him a line.  He’s used to this bullshit.  He knows the score and is willing to play the game.  More power to him.  Once upon a time, that used to be me.  I’m not sure what happened to change it.

Or maybe I do, but I’m nowhere near ready to acknowledge it.

Already, the girl I’d been considering a hookup with is sinking her purple talons into Owen’s chest.  I’m almost impressed by how quickly this girl works.  I’d say goodbye, but I doubt either of them would give a damn.  Which is fine by me.  I’ll take this as my cue to exit stage left.

As I move through the thick crowd, people pat me on the shoulder, call out a greeting, or tell me what a good game I had.  A few beckon me over to join their groups, but I wave and keep moving.  There’s only one thing on my mind, and that’s Daisy.

I search the first floor of the house.  The longer she remains elusive, the more agitated I get.  I talk with a few people, asking questions, and they tell me they saw her in this room or that one.  A guy shrugs and suggests she might be upstairs.

She better fucking not be.

The idea that she might be getting jiggy with some random dude is enough to make me blow a gasket.

I’m on the verge of storming the staircase when I catch sight of her.  Air rushes from my lungs as I swing in her direction.  The relief flooding through me doesn’t last long because a guy is standing way too damn close to her.  He strokes a lock of her hair in his fingers.

I know who this guy is.  He’s a douchey frat boy.

Please.  Get the fuck out of here.

I glance around.

Where the hell is Olivia?  She’s supposed to be keeping an eye on Daisy.  Doesn’t she know that’s her job?

But she’s nowhere to be seen.

Great.

Daisy’s eyes are focused on the douchebag frat boy. A smile hovers around the edges of her lips.  And there’s a look in her eye…

I straighten to my full height.

Are you fucking kidding me?

I’m a few feet away and coming in hot when Daisy glances over, and our gazes collide.